Archives for October 2015

All hell has broken loose between the Republican presidential campaigns and the Republican National Committee (RNC). A mutiny is afoot! It appears after this week’s presidential debate hosted by CNBC – a disorganized disaster widely panned by political observers – the candidates want to take control of the debate process going forward.

To a man (and woman), each candidate complained about the tough questions they were asked and the apparent bias of the CNBC moderators.

Sparked by Iowa front-runner Ben Carson and second-tier candidate, Bobby Jindal, a meeting will take place this Sunday in Washington D.C. among representatives of the various campaigns. Think “The Godfather” and the meeting of the “Five Families.” Most, if not all, campaigns will be represented at the meeting.

It appears there will be one notable player missing from the Sunday meeting, RNC chairman Reince Priebus. The campaign reps want to be left alone to plot how they will alter the party’s debate process without the entity responsible for scheduling and co-sponsoring each of the officially sanctioned debates!

So it will be the cranky children conducting their own meeting without any adult supervision.

Good luck with that!

While all the candidates may not like how some of the debates have been conducted so far, each campaign will come to the big meeting with it’s own set of wants and gripes. Some candidates have complained about unequal speaking time. Others have griped about how polling is used to determine who qualifies for the prime-time and undercard debates. Some have insisted on opening and closing statements.

You thought the last debate was a free-for-all?

There is one simple way to make the debates better and more meaningful. No, it is not to take Ted Cruz” suggestion of having the next debate moderated by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. It is for the top-tier candidates to tell the wannabes within their ranks to exit stage door right, pronto … for the good of the party, of course. But that sensible idea might not go over well with New Jersey’s favorite bully,  Gov. Chris Christie. “If some unlucky accident were to befall Gov. Christie,” said campaign manager Luca Brasi, ” I am going to blame some people at that meeting.”

Photo | nytimes.com

I occasionally will watch Fox News. You know, to see how the Republican propaganda machine will spin the day’s news (OK, I like to gaze upon Fox’s foxy Megyn Kelly!).

Last night Megyn had a group of about 25-30 Republican voters she quizzed on their take of the third Republican presidential debate. The most interesting segment of her show came towards the end when she discussed a few of the “untruths” spouted by some of the candidates.

Marco Rubio was asked about his poor handling of his personal finances:

MODERATOR: Senator Rubio, you yourself have said that you’ve had issues. You have a lack of bookkeeping skills. You accidentally inter-mingled campaign money with your personal money. You faced foreclosure on a second home that you bought. And just last year, you liquidated a $68,000 retirement fund. That’s something that cost you thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties. In terms of all of that, it raises the question whether you have the maturity and wisdom to lead this $17 trillion economy. What do you say?

RUBIO: Well, you just – you just listed a litany of discredited attacks from Democrats and my political opponents, and I’m not gonna waste 60 seconds detailing them all.

Megyn told her panel, after some fact checking, it was determined that everything the moderator said about Rubio’s poor financial acumen was true.

So not only is Rubio a poor manager of his personal finances … he’s a bald-faced liar!

Megyn then asked her Republican panel members if any of this mattered to them. I believe two people raised their hands.

News outlets have a field day fact checking statements made by politicians after debates. It is very clear that facts, or lies, do not matter so much to your average Republican voter. How else could one explain the level of support for Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson (or the entire Republican field for that matter!).

Photo | salon.com

At a Houston gathering earlier this week, attended by Jeb Bush’s richest donors, the Bush brain trust huddled together to salvage the Bush family name and Jeb’s flagging presidential hopes. As has become clear to everyone in the Bush camp, Jeb, as a political candidate, is just not meeting the expectations of the Bush brand.

Both former presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, attended the pow-wow organized to help breath life into Jeb’s once thriving presidential bid. But what all the Bushes and mega donors do not seem to understand… the brand is toxic. No amount of money spent on advertising will make a skunk smell like a rose.

What is so odd about trying to resuscitate the Bush brand is that at the start of his campaign, Jeb did all he could to run away from the family name. But that wise strategy didn’t last long. Before you could blink an eye, Jeb was praising his brother W. for his service as president, especially on his foreign policy. Not only did he claim on a debate stage that W. “kept us safe,” but also later doubled and tripled down on the absurd comment.

The Bush brand has come to be associated with the 9/11 attack, the Iraq invasion, Hurricane Katrina and the largest financial meltdown since the Great Depression. While it is true voters have a short memory, all the slick ads in the world will not dispel the disastrous associations with the Bush name.

On the other end of the Republican presidential spectrum, you have the front-runner, Donald Trump, and his own ubiquitous brand. But unlike the negative connotations of the Bush brand, the Trump name is associated with success, excitement, sincerity and being a winner. It is easy to see why Republican voters are shunning the Bush brand for that of Trump’s.

The candidate that once talked about being “his own man” has now fully embraced the family brand. Why Jeb and the campaign intelligentsia have done such a complete reversal from the original, sound campaign strategy is a mystery to all. It seems like a sign of desperation; a Hail Mary pass. It is abundantly clear to all but the group gathered in Houston that Jeb will not secure the Republican presidential nomination as long as he is wearing the same brand as one of the worst presidents in modern history … the Bush brand.

Photo | all-len-all.com

Here we go again! House Speaker John Boehner has announced the formation of another House Select Committee.  This one will “focus on the grisly practices of big abortion providers,” (wink, wink, Planned Parenthood). You have to hand it to House Republicans; they sure know how to waste time and money.

Pandering to their base through the use of taxpayer money, House Republicans are setting themselves up for another debacle akin to their Benghazi probe. It appears Jindal’s “party of stupid” just doesn’t learn. (The Party Of Stupid Just Can’t Help Itself)

Having had three other House committees investigate “abortion providers,” Boehner explained, “At my request, three House committees have been investigating the abortion business, but we still don’t have the full truth.” You have to give Boehner some credit. This new Select Committee was setup after only three prior investigations, unlike the Benghazi Select Committee that was setup after seven prior inquisitions.

The House committee will be lead by none other than Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican and fellow graduate of Batsh*t University along with Michelle Bachmann. It should be noted that she and her other seven committee appointees have 100 percent ratings from the National Right to Life Committee.

Like its Benghazi predecessor, Democrats have called the new committee just another overly politicized panel that wastes taxpayer dollars. Their hope is that this new exercise in futility will yield the same negative results for Republicans as the Hillary witch-hunt, otherwise known as the Benghazi investigation.

I cannot think of a better way to show the American public that Republicans are not engaged in a war on woman than to go after a health service provider that is more popular than the National Rifle Association, the Supreme Court, both political parties, every presidential candidate and President Barack Obama! (NBC News/ Wall Street Journal).

Pandering to an ever-shrinking base is no way to win elections.

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Jeb Bush just cut his campaign payroll by 40 percent in order to spend more money on ads in the early primary states. According to Bush, this will allow his campaign to operate more “lean and mean” going forward. When asked if the changes signaled trouble for his presidential bid, he said, “It means I have the ability to adapt.”

Campaign officials have said they will be directing more resources into early voting states such as Iowa, South Carolina and, most importantly, New Hampshire. “We are moving our resources into the states to ensure that voters in primary states and caucus states are introduced to his record and vision of the future, “ Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said.

Jeb and company may want to rethink their new campaign strategy. His campaign recently spent $5 million on ads in New Hampshire and his poll numbers increased by a paltry .03%. At that rate, Bush may need a few of Donald Trump’s billions to see any meaningful upward tick.

The Republican establishment is getting desperate. No one figured Donald Trump and Ben Carson would have the staying power that they’ve had. According to the most current New Hampshire poll (Bloomberg), Bush is in third place (10%) behind Trump (24%) and Carson (17%).

What Bush’s backers are refusing to see (or admit) is that Republican primary voters do not need to be “introduced” to Jeb and his “vision of the future.” They simply do not want him as their candidate.

With all the early money behind him, Jeb has proven himself to be a poor candidate (excuse the pun). It has been one continuous string of gaffes for the bumbling candidate. But most importantly, he is being weighed down by an anchor around his neck that cannot be removed. It is his family name.

It is only a matter of time before Jeb’s generous donors see the writing on the wall. Oh, how Mama Bush was right! (What’s Wrong With Jeb!)

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